[MR] BBC: Last Pagan Country in Europe

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today BBC Travel is offering a text/slide feature story about Lithuania.
The article mainly focuses on the historic importance of beekeeping, how
bees permeate the modern language, and that the Lithuanian language as the
closest European survivor to the Indo-European mother tongue of Sanskrit.

But other than references to historical beekeeping, the real nugget for us
is that Lithuania was the last officially pagan country in Europe. While
neighboring, Latvia and Estonia were overrun and forced to convert to
Christianity in the 12th C, Lithuania managed to keep its independence and
its pre-christian faith. Conversion came in 1386 when the Grand Duke became
Catholic, but Christianity was slow to reach the lower classes, and pagan
beliefs and practices still survive. This is something to tuck away in our
collective SCA mind.

Plus you get to see a photo of a really cool little castle! [Mandatory
period content]

Enjoy the show:
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180319-are-lithuanians-obsessed-with-bees

Yours Aye,

Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆